When Irish Eyes Are Crying
"}} "When Irish Eyes Are Crying" is the premiere episode of Miami Vice's third season. It premiered on September 26, 1986, and was rerun on January 30, 1987 and April 24, 1987. Summary Gina falls for an Irish pacifist who is in reality a member of a terrorist organization. Plot Gina attends a fundraiser for Northern Irish children, put on by former IRA member Sean Carroon. He presents a slideshow about the recent IRA-British conflict while Switek and Zito listen in, as Izzy told them a weapons deal was going down. After Carroon finishes up, he and Gina have a talk about the current situation, while philanthropist Bunny Berrigan offers to match any check for the children's coat fund dollar for dollar. Then a masked gunman bursts in, calling out Carroon by name. Gina orders him to drop his gun but is quickly forced to shoot him. When the gunman is unmasked he appears to be very young. At OCB, they find the shooter has no name, no ID, not even serial numbers on the Uzi he used. His prints are sent to INTERPOL and both Irelands. Everyone at the fundraiser was from the parish and no weapon deal was going down. Crockett feels that Carroon may be a target because knows about future terrorist operations, having once been part of the organization. Castillo takes Gina off the streets until the shooting report is back; she then gets a call from Carroon to have lunch, as thanks for saving his life. Switek and Zito ask Berrigan about Carroon; Berrigan says he moved to a beach suite earlier, fearing his presence might be a threat to his family because the Provos (terrorist organization) have him targeted for getting out. Izzy is walking a pack of greyhounds when Crockett and Tubbs confront him about his bum tip. Izzy refers them to Max Klizer, his source. Gina and Carroon take a walk on the beach and talk about their families. Their attraction is almost immediate, and they go to his hotel room to make love. Crockett has a meeting with Klizer the following evening. Castillo gets a call from Richard Cross, former commando turned Scotland Yard counter-terrorism agent. Cross reviews the current history of the IRA-British conflict, and says that a Provo agent, Danny Finnian, was the one killed by Gina at the fundraiser. Carroon, he believes, is in Miami to do something far beyond the Provos' capability, and those (like Gina) who get close to Carroon end up dead. Crockett and Tubbs (as Burnett and Topo Manyeri) go to see Max Klizer with a list of weapon requests, and he refers Crockett (and only Crockett) to Eddie Kaye, his supplier. Carroon tells Gina about his violent past and that now he only wants peace - and a woman to love. Switek and Zito are observing Berrigan while Tubbs tells Gina about Cross' file on Carroon; Gina wants to follow her instincts, unless Tubbs can produce a warrant proving otherwise. Crockett goes to see Eddie Kaye in a backwoods area and sets up a meet. Switek and Zito continue survillence on Carroon and Berrigan while Castillo meets with Cross, who warns Castillo that Carroon will cross the line eventually, upon which he (Cross) will be given authority by the British government to take action. Switek and Zito monitor a conversation between Carroon and Berrigan about some group "trying again" but cannot make out anything else due to interference. Crockett is concerned that Cross has done nothing but talk about the threat Carroon presents when there is no proof, no warrants, no nothing. Berrigan and Carroon meet with Klizer about a weapon shipment, and offer 100% markup for delivery in 36 hours. After getting a call from Klizer, Kaye meets with Crockett & Tubbs who tells them they will be two stingers short. Crockett becomes irate about the shortfall, then dares to ask Kaye about the quality of the weapons, questioning whether they will even work after several years in storage. By way of a rebuttal, Kaye takes a stinger (leaving them three short now), aims it at Crockett's Ferrari Daytona, and pulls the trigger. Crockett rages to Klizer about his car being blown up, and demands that he or Kaye make up the difference. Tubbs indicates his "associates" are going to be unhappy about the shortfall in stingers; Klizer admits he got a better offer at double retail, declining to reveal who the other buyer is. Crockett begins smashing Klizer's "priceless" statues until he gives up his buyer - Sean Carroon. Crockett tells a distraught Gina about Carroon's purchase, and Switek says Berrigan requested an Atlantic International flight schedule to take the Concorde to London from a travel agent, but it didn't leave at the right time. Upon further investigation, Berrigan has taken eight London trips in the past two years, and has withdrawn a lot of money over the past few months, including $150,000 at open of business that day (to purchase the stingers from Klizer). Crockett reviews the flight schedule and determines that the Concorde will leave the next day at 10 A.M., and the beach Carroon and Berrigan were walking on previously is in the flight path of the Concorde. Castillo asks Gina to keep her date with Carroon that night and for everyone to meet at OCB the next morning. Gina goes to see Carroon, but her mind is not on the date, so makes up a fake reason (friend being sick) for her mood before leaving. A drunken Cross, disgusted that no one is heeding his warnings, makes a call to Carroon, warning him about the beach. At OCB Castillo makes plans to stop Carroon's plan to take down the Concorde. Berrigan, Kaye and Carroon drive to the airport, dropping Carroon inside the parking garage before leaving. Castillo, Crockett and Tubbs follow the van to the beach, and shoot Berrigan and Kaye down when they try to take them in, but Carroon isn't there. Castillo, having back-traced phone calls made to Carroon's hotel room, arrests Cross for calling Carroon to warn him about their operation, so they can do things his way. Tubbs is unable to reach Switek or Zito and they realize Carroon, who must have been dropped off at the garage, can take out the Concorde while it's on the tarmac, so they head back to the airport. They find Zito knocked out and Switek gagged—he tells them Carroon is on the roof. Gina, who arrives first, demands Carroon drop the stinger. Carroon attempts to appeal to her, but finally tells her this isn't her war. Crockett arrives and Carroon starts to pull a gun, forcing both Gina and Crockett to shoot him. The impact knocks Carroon over the side to his death. Bursting into tears, Gina is consoled by Crockett and Tubbs. Cast *Don Johnson as Metro-Dade Detective James "Sonny" Crockett *Philip Michael Thomas as Metro-Dade Detective Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs *Saundra Santiago as Metro-Dade Detective Gina Calabrese *Michael Talbott as Metro-Dade Detective Stan Switek *John Diehl as Metro-Dade Detective Larry Zito *Olivia Brown as Metro-Dade Detective Trudy Joplin *Edward James Olmos as Metro-Dade Lieutenant Martin "Marty" Castillo Guest Stars *Liam Neeson as Sean Carroon *Martin Ferrero as Isadore "Izzy" Moreno *Paul Gleason as Bunny Berrigan *Daniel Gerroll as Scotland Yard Agent Richard Cross *Walter Gotell as Max Klizer *Jeff Fahey as Eddie Kaye Co-Starring *Matt Ford as Intruder *Barry Grayson as Father Gaffney Uncredited *Unknown as Manny "Ripped From The Headlines" After Dick Wolf took over as line producer, several of Miami Vice's stories appeared to be "ripped from the headlines", a trademark of his Law & Order series. In this episode, he references the civil unrest between the Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland (often referred to as "The Troubles") that lasted 30 years, from 1968-1998. The opening montage (as well as several times in the episode) references the Maze hunger strike where Bobby Sands became a symbol of the war in 1980-81. The episode also contains subtle references to the Apartheid struggle in South Africa that ended in 1994. Notes * Originally, the season 3 opener was planned to be a two-hour episode set in Ireland, but this idea was scrapped when Don Johnson was unavailable due to a recording commitment for his album Heartbeat. * With the scrapping of the planned Ireland premiere, the episode "El Viejo" was subsequently intended to be the season opener, but was held back due to Don Johnson's holdout and studio executives at NBC thinking the destruction of Crockett's car would make a better start to the season. As a result of this change to the running order of the episodes, the Daytona would be "resurrected" six episodes after its destruction, causing a major continuity goof. * Instead of their usual Bug Van, Switek and Zito instead use a metallic blue Chevrolet Chevy Van for their surveillance in this episode. This van would reappear in the same role in "El Viejo". It's never explained why they have switched to a different vehicle in these episodes. * Gina takes a leaf from Crockett and Tubbs' book in this episode, becoming involved in a romantic relationship with someone linked to the case that inevitably ends in heartbreak. This is a recurring plot point in the series, although it was usually the lead duo who found themselves in this situation. * When Tubbs mentions to Gina that he and Crockett have misgivings about her relationship with Carroon, Gina sarcastically complains, "That's just great. Sonny would be real objective!", referencing their on-off relationship and its acrimonious end from season 1. * Paul Gleason was best known for his role as Principal Richard Vernon in the 1980s iconic movie The Breakfast Club. * Liam Neeson was nominated for an Oscar in 1993 for his role in Schindler's List, but is best known for his action roles like Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace ''or Brian Mills in the ''Taken ''trilogy among others. * The closing credits mention "Crockett's Car provided by Ferrari North America", but his car in this episode is still the fake Ferrari Daytona. Crockett doesn't get his Testarossa until the next episode, "Stone's War". Berrigan does drive a black Testarossa in this episode which is constantly acknowledged by Switek and Zito as a Testarossa every time it features prominently in a scene as they have a hard time keeping a tail on him with their slow van. This is obviously an intro to the next episode where it will be issued to Crockett (after a new paint job). Though never explicitly mentioned everything points to this car being confiscated and made available to ''Vice as an undercover vehicle. * The "Provos" repeatedly mentioned in the episode are the Provisional Irish Republican Army, a splinter group of the IRA formed in 1969 that grew to become the main faction on the nationalist side of The Troubles. Their most infamous actions included the murder of Lord Louis Mountbatten, the uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in 1979, the Brighton Hotel bombing, aimed at assassinating then-British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, in 1984, the Manchester bombing in 1996, and the Omagh bombing in 1998, which remains the second deadliest terrorist bombing in Britain after the 7th July attacks. * Concorde was the world's first commercially operated supersonic airliner (while the Russian Tu-144 was completed first, it did not enter service until after Concorde had begun flying passengers). It was jointly developed by the British and the French and introduced to regular air travel in 1976. It had a top speed of Mach 2 and was capable of crossing the Atlantic from London to New York in less than three and a half hours, under half the time of traditional sub-sonic airliners. Phil Collins famously flew on Concorde in 1985, allowing him to perform at both the UK and US venues for Live Aid during the same day. Economic, safety, and environmental concerns forced Concorde's retirement in 2003. * The dogs Izzy is walking are named Gus and Captain Call from the book Lonesome Dove (1985), a movie adaptation of which was released in 1989. Goofs * When Crockett and Tubbs visit Max Klizer, a boom mic is visible at the bottom right of the screen, at times almost moving into centre frame. In the Starz rebroadcasts, the scene is zoomed in to where you don't see the boom mic. * While discussing with Klizer the weapons he wishes to purchase, Tubbs mentions "M67 fragmental grenades". The correct term is "fragmentation". * Another mistake in the list of weapons is the types of mortars Tubbs requests: "61mm" and "80mm". There is no such thing as a 61mm mortar and only one that measures exactly 80mm, an obsolete Austrian design from WWI. The "1" was likely attached to the wrong number by the writers as the sizes should be "60mm" and "81mm", for these are both standardized mortar sizes. * When Castillo and Crockett shoot and kill Eddie Kaye and Bunny Berrigan near their van, Berrigan is seen falling to the ground in front of the van, but when Crockett and Tubbs approach the van and search it, his body is now lying near the back of the vehicle. * The skies are reasonably clear when Gina confronts Carroon atop the parking garage, but in the shot of him tumbling over the edge, the sky is suddenly overcast and gray. Production Notes * Filmed: July 1, 1986 - July 11, 1986 * Production Code: 62004 * Production Order: 46 Filming Locations *North End of Virginia Key (Gina/Caroon taking walk) *Jimbo's Place, Virginia Key (Eddie Kaye's hangout) *Sand dunes North of Virginia Key (Crockett's car is blown up) *No Name Harbor, Key Biscayne (Shooting at van with Kaye and Berrigan) *Perimeter Road/NW 22nd Street, Miami (Parking garage where Carroon picks up stinger, then is shot dead) Music *"Imagine" by John Lennon (Opening sequence showing history of Northern Ireland conflict) *"The Last Unbroken Heart" by Patti LaBelle and Bill Champlin (Gina & Carroon make love and at end when Gina kills Carroon) *"Wild Cats of Kilkenny" by The Pogues (After Crockett's Daytona explodes) Quotes *"I'm going to rip Izzy's head off!" "Make sure you get our Ben Franklin back before you do!" -- Switek & Zito *"I'm colorblind, as long as the money's green." -- Eddie Kaye to Tubbs *"How do I know these are gonna go 'BANG'?" -- Crockett to Kaye questioning the reliability of the stinger missiles *''"Sold!" -- Tubbs to Kaye after the stinger went "BANG!" and blew up Crockett's Daytona'' *"It's not your war, Gina." -- Carroon to Gina Category:Season 3 episodes